"Hobbit," "Frozen" lead box office to record year

JESSICA HERNDON

Monday

Dec 30, 2013 at 12:01 AM

LOS ANGELES - Over the bustling post-Christmas holiday weekend, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" continued to lead the box office, as it landed in the No. 1 slot for the third weekend in a row. The Warner Bros. prequel earned $30 million, bringing the domestic gross to $190.3 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Disney's animated adventure, "Frozen," took the No. 2 position, earning $28.9 million over the weekend and $248.4 million domestically after six weeks at the multiplex.

"'Frozen' probably had the best release date of the year because they positioned themselves to completely dominate the family film marketplace over the holidays," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak. "To be No. 2 in its sixth week is a total reflection of that."

Reigning box-office champion "Hobbit," ''really contributed to this record box office that we have at the end of the year," added Dergarabedian. "With 'Hobbit' and 'Frozen' we are talking $450 million at the box office between those two films alone. They are absolutely killing it here at the end of the year."

2013 is poised to be a banner year at the box office and it is projected to surpass 2012's $10.8 million by nearly 1 percent, making this the highest annual take ever.

Paramount held two slots in the top five over the weekend, with the comedies "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," starring Will Farrell, and "The Wolf of Wall Street," featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. Sequel "Anchorman 2" came in at No. 3 with $20.2 million and Martin Scorsese's dark comedy, "The Wolf of Wall Street," rounded out the list at No. 5 earning $19 million after opening at No. 2 on Christmas day with $9.15 million.

"Some people are calling the performance of 'Anchorman' a bit of a disappointment, but it will be a $100 million gross at the end of the day," said Dergarabedian. "All of the marketing certainly raised its profile. It will have a good showing."

"Anchorman" met the studios expectations over the Christmas holiday. "We are thrilled and we feel the movie will play well in theaters for a while," said Don Harris, president of distribution at Paramount. "The first film brought in $84 million and this one will be well north of that."

At nearly three hours long, "Wolf" does not have as many showings in a day as the rest of the pictures currently in theaters, yet it's holding its own at the multiplex. "The movie is very much out there in terms of content and that's a good thing," added Harris. "It's different than anything else in the marketplace. I think people are surprised that it's a lot of fun."

Fox's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," Ben Stiller's dramatic turn, which he also directed, took seventh place, earning $13 million. "'Mitty' is a feel-good film and with the combination of our excellent exit polls and audience friendly rating at PG-13, I think we are going to play well into the New Year," said Chris Aronson, president of distribution at Twentieth Century Fox. "This has been an incredibly fragmented and healthy marketplace as we're expected to finish with a record year."

And despite lackluster reviews, Keanu Reeves' martial-arts film "47 Ronin" managed to slide into the top 10 at No. 9 with $10 million in its opening weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1."The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," $30 million.

2."Frozen," $29 million

3."Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," $20.2 million.

4."American Hustle," $20 million.

5."The Wolf of Wall Street," $19 million.

6."Saving Mr. Banks," $14.3 million.

7."The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," $13 million.

8."The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," $10.2 million.

9."47 Ronin," $10 million.

10."Tyler Perry's a Madea Christmas," $7.4 million.

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.